BOSTON – The day Don Zimmer wanted to see for almost two months arrived yesterday when Joe Torre returned to the helm of the Yankees. And to the 68-year-old Zimmer, it wasn’t one second too soon.

Asked to fill in for Torre, who was diagnosedwith prostate cancer on March 10, Zimmer ignored a painful right knee that was coming back from surgery to fill in for his close friend. However, before the start of the season, Zimmer took on George Steinbrenner over how Hideki Irabu was going to be handled and there were other issues.

Still, Zimmer chugged on looking forward to yesterday. “I am happy he is back,” said Zimmer, who grew testy in his final days as Yank boss when the club lost five in a row. “We had a tough week. I am just a bench coach now. I don’t want to bother nobody and I don’t want nobody bothering me.”

While there was no official announcement, Zimmer is expected to stay with the team with his knee has been feeling better. While GM Brian Cashman shook Zimmer’s hand and thanked Zimmer for guiding the Yankees to a 21-16 record and first place in the AL East, Torre didn’t feel a need to thank Zimmer in front of the team.

“I didn’t want to put Don in an embarrassing situation,” Torre said of Zimmer. “If I read it right, the team would have given him a standing ovation and he would have broken up.”

As for Steinbrenner, he simply pointed to the Yankees’ spot in the AL standings.

“I am not in a position to sit and judge,” said The Boss, who judges more than any owner in sports. “He has his club in first place, doesn’t he?”

According to Derek Jeter, the record wouldn’t have been any different under Torre.

“There is nothing Zimmer could have done that Mr. Torre would have done,” Jeter said. “Neither one of them [is] playing.”